Forgivness - Should I even be the one to talk about it?

I'm trying to teach my grand children some values from the Bible. Even if you are NOT a believer, you have to think that the Bible is a good guide to living in this world.

One of the things I've tried, and will continue to try, to drill into their heads is the "Golden Rule".  No, not "he that has the gold makes the rules" but rather "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them".  That's how I learned it.  It sounds better like this: Treat others how you want to be treated.  I think that's pretty clear.  If you want people to treat you nicely, you treat them nicely.  I know that when I'm treated badly, I tend to react badly and when I'm treated well, I react in a nice manner. When you''re at a restaurant and your server serves you well, you tend to leave a bigger tip.  If you server neglects you and never checks on you and acts like he/she couldn't care less, your tip will be a tad smaller if you leave any at all. 

All that to say, treat others well.  It also goes along with Matthew 5:43-45

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:

That's a tough lesson to learn.  It's very hard to love your enemies and to pray for them, but that's what we are to do. I'm sure we all have people who have hurt us and we consider out enemies.  These are the people we need to pray for and to pray about our attitudes toward them.

Another thing I've just started trying to teach the grand kids is forgiveness.  The Lord's prayer goes like this:

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matt 6:8-15

(emphasis is mine).  Verse 12 says "and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors".  I have read other versions of this and debts and debtors is replaced by trespasses so it would read "and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us" 

The point of that is though Christ died on the cross, was buried and rose again so we may have forgiveness of sins, we are also to forgive those who have done us wrong.  Again, not an easy task.  Especially if you feel like the person in question hurt you deeply.  The only thing you can do is to ask God to help you forgive them and (going along with the previous paragraphs) treat them well, be kind to them.  One of the things that cause people to have a negative impact on our life is the lack of a forgiving heart.  Holding the anger, bitterness and wrath inside you can only have negative impact on your attitude and your health.

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Eph 4:31-32

I'm sure I can go further, but you get my point.  Be nice to everybody, including your enemies, forgive everybody and trust God to take care of the rest.

God bless you all.

To quote a famous playwright "to be or not to be..."

To be or not to be that is the question.  I don't know the rest of this quote but I do, at least, remember that part which is the important part to remember in this particular entry.  That seemed a bit long-winded don't you think.

Any way.  As I learned in college, there were a group (or should I say "there is a group) of Christians who follow the thoughts and teachings of John Calvin. I don't claim to have read his teachings but I was taught that one of the things he taught was "predestination".  Here's the definition I found online:

 

pre·des·ti·na·tion

prēˌdestəˈnāSH(ə)n/

noun

noun: predestination; noun: pre-destination

(as a doctrine in Christian theology) the divine foreordaining of all that will happen, especially with regard to the salvation of some and not others. It has been particularly associated with the teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo and of Calvin

Which means, basically and probably over simplified, that God knows what choices we are going to make in our lives.  He knows who will take the gift of salvation and who will not.  The thought then becomes, well if He knows, then there is nothing left for me to do, the decision has been made fore me.  This takes out free will. Because God knows everything, then we have no choices in the matter.  No matter how hard we try, we cannot change our destiny and that has been written in stone for us.

It sounds good in a way, because it means we don't have to think about it.  We are going to do what we are going to do and the thinking and choosing involved is not necessary.

On the other hand others believe that we still have a choice to follow God or not.  But how does that work with a God that knows everything?

It's simple.  God gave us free will, yet still knows what we will do.  In the infinite choices we make over the course of our lives there are many universes where we make other choices. The Creator of all things also made multiple universes and knows every choice we will make and yet we are free to choose those things or actions we wish to choose.

Some times my mind gets to thinking that because He knows all, that there are no choices for me to make.  Yes I struggle with that at times, but I always come back to the realization that God didn't create just this one universe, but many.  It's because of free will that He made all the universes.  If we make a decision in this universe, perhaps our doppelganger in another universe makes a different decision.  I'm comfortable enough in my beliefs that we have free will and we can make whatever decisions we want and God knows them and the path we tread when we make the choice.  He does not hinder us, he simply sets the path in front of us.

I'm not a super spiritual or religious person, but sometimes I think God speaks to me and gives me insight to share.  I hope that what I wrote here and in other postings, in some way inspires you.

Love you all in God.

So, here we go...

Resuming my thoughts on money...

The problem with money is that we all need it to survive.  When a person has a little bit of money, it's not unusual for them to want more. This is especially true for those who quite literally don't have enough to live on or barely enough to keep their heads above water.  They have a tendency to need and want more, rationalizing that they need it to meet all their bills.  They begin to pray for money to get things straightened out.  They ask for specific amounts praying that if He gives them that money, the first 10% off the top goes to charities that do the Lord's work and the rest to getting some bills paid off. The problem then becomes a selfish request.  Even though you are doing what the Word says "if you ask anything in my name, believing, it shall be done" (I think that's paraphrased a bit). Then you start giving thanks for everything hoping that God will reward you with more so you can get your bills taken care of.  And when you see somebody in need and you have a couple bucks in your pocket, you give it to the needy person, in the back of your mind you're doing it for your own self absorbed reasons. That becomes a hard habit to break.  You know that you have to genuinely care for the person you're giving money to and not think of what it will do for you.

These things I know first hand.  I felt it, I know the thinking because I'm trying to break that chain in my life. I keep thinking that if I'm good enough, God will give me what I've been asking for. Jesus said something to the effect that you shouldn't worry about what you're going to eat. Look at the sparrows or what you should wear, look at the lilys of the field. I have to remind myself that the good samaritan did what he did not for what he can get out of it, but because it was the right thing to do. I've got to get past the needs I feel and concentrate on the needs of others.  Even if it is only praying for them.

I am not sure how much I've said all this before, but I felt it needed to be said.  There are others out there who feel the way I do.  That have their minds in a rut like I do. Let's get out of this rut and do some good for our fellow man.

A hard thing to do

    You know, one of the most difficult things to do is to give thanks for a situation that you're in that is not exactly the best situation.  Sometimes you have to stop what you're doing and look at EVERYTHING. 
    I was watching one of those pastors who have a huge church and what he said reminded me that the word says "be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known unto God.
    "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6,7 and "But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" Phil 4:19 One last one "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." I Thess 5:18
    These are hard things to do. To turn things over to God and trust that He's working on a solution.  We cannot always see God working, in fact, in my experience, I haven't seen Him working during this whole situation we're in.  Probably I'm not in the place I should be, but I don't know what place that should be. I've thought that I can get a second job, part time weekends and evenings, but so far nothing has opened up.  I will admit that I've not applied to everywhere but places you would think would be good places (wal-mart, target, CVS) would be available, but so far none have been even during the holiday season.
    Well, here's the end of this.  "In everything give thanks..." that assumes you have something to be thankful for or perhaps it's referring to "even though you're in dire straits and you feel like you;re drowning, thank God because when you get through it, and you WILL get through it, you'll be stronger in faith and God will be glorified.  So here's my list of things I'm thankful for:

1. A roof over our head
2. a way to get to work
3. we still have electricity, gas and phones
4. our cars are paid for
5. we have family here even though they vex us at times
6. we have our jobs
7. God loves us and saved us
8. we have family all over who has helped us and pray for us.
9. I am especially thankful that I have a wife who loves me and puts up with me.

    I will admit it was difficult coming up with this list, but there it is.  Pray for us that we might finally get through this and that we are doing what God wants, not what we want.

    Thank you my friends.  Those I know who read this and those who I don't know who also read this.  Thank you for your prayers.

Is money evil?

Well, it's been a while.  Have you all missed me?

Money is the root of all evil.  Or that's what a lot of people say.  But that saying is taken from the Bible and is quoted inaccurately.  The Bible says "The love of money is the root of all evil."  We are talking greed here.  The desire for more and more money over and above what is needed on which to live.  I cannot argue the fact that, in this day and time, we all need money to survive.  Without it, we are homeless and starving.  So we work for it.  We do what we can to get enough to meet our needs and, I might add, plus some.  Some may argue that having just enough money to meed your needs, that is, utility bills, food on the table, a roof over your head, gas for your car (though it could be argued that public transportation is there to replace the need for gas for your car).  No provision is made (by some) for eating out once in while.  Getting out of the house and the rut we all seem to find ourselves in.  I maintain that money used for that purpose is nearly as important as the utility bills or mortgage, though you shouldn't sacrifice the necessities for a night out on the town, no matter how bad you need it. I guess what I'm saying is having money isn't evil and using it for your benefit and for the benefit of others is a good thing.

There are times (and Cathy and I seem to find ourselves in those times frequently) when you become preoccupied with money.  These times are intensified when you don't get paid when you're supposed to and you caclulate it out and find out you're 7 weeks behind in getting paid.  This kind of stuff wreaks havoc on just trying to pay the necessities.  It is at these times when you HAVE to rely on God to provide for you.  Believe me, I've begged and pleaded for the money to pay our bills and we don't always get the money in time to NOT be late on some of them.  We've had the water turned off and then was charged $150 to get it turned back on.  Power would be the same only the charge to get it turned back on would be around $300.

I'm not asking for anything I'm just trying to convey to you the idea that the love of money is the root of all evil, and yet there are times when, due to circumstances beyond out control, we are preoccupied with getting more money.  You do what you can.  You cut things that are not necessary, you talk to your creditors and explain to them what's going on, hoping for some compassion and leeway in getting them paid.  One of the worst things is when you need to see a doctor, you have a high deductible that has to be met before the insurance company starts paying. Or when your car needs tires or service but, because of the inconsistant pay, you cannot take care of those things right away.

The love of money is the root of all evil, but all of us is aware of the necessity of having enough and how easy it is to get preoccupied by it.  I'm learning (re-learning because I used to know this) that God provides for all our needs we just need to let go and let God.  Faith is the key, though hard work and perseverance are not discounted.

So if you're in a tight spot, not enough bread coming into the coffers, and things are rough. Remember God knows how many hairs are on your head.  He cares for the birds of the air and aren't we more than them?

God Bless you  all.